The “Voices Made Me Do It” Dress

Fabric: Piece from some very expensive curtains given to me by sister-in-lawPattern: Based on KazztheSpazz’s Black Smoke Yellow Haze Dress (but I made it wrong!)Year: ContemporaryNotions: Just threadTime to complete: 2 hoursFirst worn: 5th April 2012Wear again? Yes, once I finish the seams properly

Total price: $0 (£0) Zilch.

The challenge: “Very Important Pieces: This week, we’re sewing with VIP fabric — those very important pieces in our stashes that need to finally see the light of day…”

So this is how it all happened…..

Me: OK, I’m taking a week off Sew Weekly Challenges. I know I’ve said this before, but I need a week off to catch up on life and plan for future challenges. I am definitely NOT doing the VIP stash busting challenge. That will give me two weeks to make my City challenge dress properly, french seams the lot. Definitely not doing anything for this week.

The Voices: Are you quite sure about that? You haven’t missed a weekly challenge yet…. It would be a shame to break that running streak…

Me: Shut up Voices. I need a week off. And anyway, I haven’t got any VIP fabric.

The Voices: Reaaaaally? What about that piece of material you look at nearly every week trying to decide if you can make it into something? You know the one. The leftover bit of your sister-in-law’s curtains…..the bit she asked you to take to the charity shop (thrift store) in case anyone wanted it. The bit you nearly made your Mad Men dress out of except you wanted a full circle skirt…

Me: I don’t know what you’re talking about Voices. I definitely didn’t get it out on Monday and drape it on Betty (Betty Draper my dressform).

The Voices: Yes you did. You even took some pics of it ready for put on Instagram and Absobloominglutely as sneak peeks if you were going to do the VIP challenge….

The Voices: Bah! Just tell the world that unfinished hems are now fashionable and you meant them to be left that way. Like you did on the Dr Seuss skirt.

Me: Erm, what exactly are you insinuating…..I did mean to leave them unfinished. No, no, no….anyway even if I made it, Goth Child is at school so can’t take my photos. So ha! Stick that in your pipe and smoke it Voices!

The Voices: Right, yeah, so you couldn’t just take the pics yourself like you did for the Freaky Déjà Vécu Dress, and I seem to remember your Parachute Maxi Dress? You have a camera remote…..we’ll let you be silly…..

Me: Don’t think you can buy me over with promises of silliness…..I’m a grown woman. I’m a Chartered Accountant. What makes you think I do silly?

The Voices: Oh for goodness sake, backcomb it to death, stick it up in an up-do and we’ll let you do some Crane poses from the Karate Kid.

Me: OK. Deal :)

The Voices: And we might even let you take a pic of you carrying the latest hot fashion accessory, the world’s smallest cat.

Me: Now who’s being silly, there’s no way my cat Luca Brasi would get in a shot exactly the right distance behind me to make it look like she’s tiny and I’m holding her up! Pah! You need to go and have a lie down in darkened room Voices, the Arizona sun is getting to you….

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tempestdevyne

Tempest Devyne started sewing about 3 years ago in order to make her own burlesque costumes. She'd now like to make pretty clothes for herself that don't rely on velcro and poppers to stay on. She's self-taught with help from the internet and lots of books from the library.

That photo cracks me up. I had loads of her around my feet….but that one just reminds me of when I trained to be a tv news reporter and always had someone come into the back of shot and give the camera a weird stare.

The problem now is I’ve proved to myself that sometimes you don’t need to take 20 hours a week to make a dress. I quite enjoyed experimenting with squares and holes….It’s not something I’d have tried at all at the beginning of this year, but now I’ve learnt more about shapes (including mine)techniques and fabrics I’m willing to experiment more. I think I might have to try a few more of these before the year is out.

It’s being cooped up in suits, working with numbers and things being so black or white, right or wrong with no creativity…..we erupt into silliness and rainbow-explosions (though in fairness I quit accountancy quite a few years ago….I couldn’t fight my love of life any longer, I needed to fly).

Aw Tempest you are too funny, the voices, the voices. I think you look gorgeous, this pattern is really flattering on you. So so glad you made it I look forward to reading and seeing what you make from week to week….squares are the go when you don’t have time. Way to go!!

About the Sew Weekly

The Sew Weekly began as Mena Trott's attempt to document the process of sewing all of her own clothes in 2010. In 2011, four other contributors (Debi Fry, Adey Lim, Veronica Darling & Sarah Gabbart) joined her and for 52 weeks, they sewed based on a particular weekly theme. In 2012, The Sew Weekly became a much larger group blog with over 130 contributors sewing along each week.